A little parable I wrote to explain my attitude toward living with HIV:
“Do you know how pearls are made?” the old man asked me.
“An irritant enters the shell of the oyster, sometimes very small, sometimes not so small. The oyster, aware of its pain, begins to cover the irritant’s jagged edges with a solution created from inside itself. It will continue to cover the invader until it is no longer irritating, until what we know as a pearl is formed.
The oyster is not angry, it does not question, it does not hate the irritant. It simply and slowly responds according to its nature and creates, out of pain, a jewel.”
“Creating a pearl takes pain and turns it into trust. No wonder they are so valuable.”
From Eternity To Here 
Greg Louganis shared your birthday post with me, thank you!
WOW. I truly appreciate your parable.
I’ve been ill with CFS/FM for nearly two decades. When I was “diagnosed,’ there was “no such disease” and I was told I was “being labeled a waste-basket diagnosis.” My companion left me alone with our son… I went on my own quest for a better life: physically, spiritually, emotionally. Life became valuable again.
I have to admit, a decade later I’ve relapsed. I “hate the irritant.” I am angry at how excessive fatigue limits my life. I have more responsibilities and less qui. I don’t understand how to turn this pain into trust.Yet. However, I am deeply indebted to you for the lesson.
May you walk in beauty, Alice
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